Lynne Lawrence opened the morning session with the Pearls from yesterday and a quote from Chapter 2 of Maria Montessori’s Education and Peace. Gifts of chocolate from Monica Ferri of Ecuador and bookmarks from Maxine Swensson of New Zealand were shared between participants. Jacquie Maughan gave the first presentation of the day on Montessori within Indigenous Communities. Jacquie described her work with native Americans in Alaska and other states. She also spoke about the efforts of other dedicated Montessorians who have undertaken indigenous projects, explaining the reasons why these projects have such cultural and social importance.
We celebrated the 24th birthday of Nagarjun Karnatakam from Andhra Pradesh with a cake and later in the day, a giant group selfie. The participants then broke into their Workshop groups to continue discussions and projects. After lunch further workshop opportunities were offered including a Fundraising 101 workshop with Mary Caroline Parker. In the Open Space session, 16-year-old Anushree Shirish Gupte gave a presentation on the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) and International Youth Earth Summit (iYES). She traced the development of these two comprehensive initiatives for children and youth that began ten years ago and that now serve millions of children all over the world.
Lynne then gave an update on progress at the Corner of Hope project in Kenya. Prisca Chacha and Matesha Sembuche joined her to speak on their work in Tanzania. Lynne closed the day and the India group continued their ongoing dialogue with a further meeting. Following this, the Hyderabadi Muslim children of Taraporewallas Montessori House of Children invited participants to meet and mingle with them in a cultural evening before dinner.
